State Sen. Jeff Van Drew had a Marco Rubio moment of his own on Wednesday night when seventeen-year-old Emily McGrath challenged him for taking campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association. Van Drew is a right-of-center Democrat who is the favorite to flip New Jersey’s 2nd district congressional seat being vacated by twelve-term Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo. But in a climate that has empowered more progressive Democrats to become politically

The Cook Political Report has moved Republican Frank LoBiondo's 2nd district House seat from Toss Up to Leans Democratic. LoBiondo is retiring after 24 years in Congress, and the leading candidate is State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who regularly wins big numbers in Republican areas. Republicans have been unable to recruit a top-tier candidate to replace LoBiondo. Van Drew, a slightly right-of-center Democrat, faces three primary challengers who

The front runner for the Democratic nomination for Congress is skipping a candidate’s forum sponsored by three grass-roots progressive groups. Event organizers say that State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Dennis) declined an invitation to attend. Three Democrats -- Tanzie Youngblood, Sean Thom and William Cunningham – will be participating in the forum, at 2PM Sunday at Stockton University. The South Jersey Women for Progressive Change will endorse a candidate to